Movie review: Newest ‘Spider-Man’ brings it all home again

Ed Symkus More Content Now

Friday

Jun 28, 2019 at 12:01 AMJun 28, 2019 at 6:23 AM

You’d think that in a Marvel superhero movie featuring an angst-ridden protagonist who doesn’t know how to deal with his massive responsibilities or even with a confusing case of puppy love that the title was referring to his state of mind. But no, this isn’t about Peter Parker (Tom Holland) attempting to “find himself” or “get home.” It’s about him trying to go on summer vacation, with members of his high school class, in Europe. You know, far from home.

Of course, as a sequel to both “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and to “Avengers: Endgame” (IMPORTANT NOTE: If you haven’t seen “Avengers: Endgame,” you will want to before seeing this film.), there’s a lot more going on than hanging out in Venice and Prague with a pack of curious teens and their annoying teacher/chaperones.

There’s danger and devastation, and well-meaning good guys and dastardly bad guys. There’s spectacular action bolstered by to-be-expected eye-popping visuals and a healthy dose of comedy. And there’s that puppy love. Self-doubting Peter had his heart set on self-assured MJ (Zendaya) in the previous film, and now she’s pretty much all he can think about. And, yes, she’s one of the kids going on the summer trip. But so is hunky Brad (Remy Hii), who has also taken notice of MJ. One plotline is going to involve the rivalry building between Peter and Brad, of which MJ seems to be unaware.

Another, much bigger plotline has to do with Elementals - four giant creatures, each one made of a different element (earth, air, fire and water), each of them taking turns in wreaking havoc on our planet.

Being a superhero movie, someone is trying to fight off these monsters. That would be Quentin Beck - though he likes to be called Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), a glass-helmeted, red-caped fellow who flies around aiming green blasts of energy at his foes, then vanishing after vanquishing them.

Hold on. There’s still lots more going on, even before the film’s central story gets up to speed. The generally impatient, slow-burning Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), holding together the remnants of S.H.I.E.L.D., is having (comical) trouble getting in touch with Spidey. Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) - if you don’t know Happy Hogan, you have a lot of Marvel movies to catch up on - is attempting to put Fury and Spidey together. The kids arrive in Venice, as does a giant Elemental who, conveniently made out of water, begins to obliterate the city.

Spidey may be on vacation, but there is that responsibility business; he’s at least got to try to save the day - and the kids, and the other tourists. But then, whoosh! Here comes Mysterio to take care of things while Spidey is relegated to bracing up some old buildings.

Soon there are some meetings of the minds. Spidey meets Mysterio, and they bond. Spidey also finally meets Fury, and they bump heads. But everybody has to work together to get rid of the threat against mankind.

At least that’s what people who haven’t regularly been reading Spider-Man comic books since the ’60s might think. Longtime fans will know who Mysterio is, and upon first seeing him, will be aware that he might not be the heroic figure he presents. But, hmmm, he IS doing his best to fight off those Elementals, and he and Peter have some good, down-to-earth talks about things that guys talk about. And Mysterio is in tight with Nick Fury.

But he sure does seem interested in that special pair of glasses (actually a “tactical intelligence system”) that’s been bequeathed to Peter. And he sure does have a smooth manner of getting people to do things he wants them to do (sometimes accompanied by a temper tantrum). It’s not long after someone wonders aloud, “Who is this guy?” that Mysterio and his agenda completely change the fabric of the film.

The action is upped, the danger is more evident, the story twists are multiplied. Yet the director and the writers, all of whom worked on “Homecoming,” still manage to keep everything balanced with humor and hints of romance. Also: Stay for the end credits. You’ll see why.

Ed Symkus writes about movies for More Content Now. He can be reached at esymkus@rcn.com.